Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Disclosure of drone-strike victims dropped from Senate bill

At the request of US Director of National Intelligence, James
Clapper, US senators have removed a section from a crucial intelligence
bill that would have required the White House to disclose information on
those killed by US drone strikes overseas.

The fiscal year 2014 intelligence authorization bill passed
through the Senate Intelligence Committee in November with a
provision that required the president to offer annual statistics
that outline the total number of “combatants” and
“noncombatant civilians” killed or injured by US drone
strikes in the previous year.

But at the behest of Clapper, Senate leaders have removed the
requirement from the legislation ahead of the bill’s upcoming
vote on the Senate floor, the Guardian reported.

Clapper asserted that more context is needed to accurately report
these statistics to the public. Therefore, he told senators in a
letter on April 18 the Obama administration is seeking other ways
to disclose the casualty toll of their legally-dubious drone
strike operations.
“The executive branch is currently exploring ways in which it
can provide the American people more information about the United
States’ use of force outside areas of active hostilities,”
Clapper wrote to the top members of the Senate intelligence
committee, Dianne Feinstein (D) and Saxby Chambliss (R).
“To be meaningful to the public, any report including the
information described above would require context and be drafted
carefully so as to protect against the disclosure of intelligence
sources and methods or other classified information. … We are
confident we can find a reporting structure that provides the
American people additional information to inform their
understanding of important government operations to protect our
nation, while preserving the ability to continue those
operations,” Clapper added.

The US government does not offer any insight into how many
casualties have resulted from its covert drone-strike program
that involves both Central Intelligence Agency and US Defense
Department operations. Officials like Sen. Feinstein, seeking to
salvage the status quo surrounding drone strikes despite
deepening opposition worldwide, maintain that the number of
civilian deaths from unmanned drone attacks is miniscule.
Several independent groups and journalism organizations attempt
to track the number of people killed in the strikes, often using
press and ground reports in the likes of Pakistan and Yemen to
piece together casualty estimates.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, one of the most
comprehensive sources for drone casualty figures, estimates that hundreds of civilians – at
least – have perished in US drones strikes overseas.

For example, the Bureau has confirmed that drones have killed as
many as 451 people in Yemen, including as many as 82 civilians.
"Possible" – though unconfirmed – strikes have killed as
many as 545 people total and as many as 45 civilians, the Bureau
says. The number killed is far more in Pakistan, where an
estimated 383 strikes since 2004 have killed as many as 3,718
people, and as many as 957 civilians, according to the Bureau.

Yet the US drone policy is so broad that it considers any
military-age male in a strike zone as a combatant, especially if
he is armed. Thus, even by the strictest standards, there are
likely many more civilians who have died but were considered
fighters or militants.

In addition to the high civilian casualty rates, critics say
these drone strike policies are done in violation of
international law, and question whether the Obama administration
has the authority to sanction the killings without a court
warrant.

One particular practice denounced by human rights activists is
the use of so-called ‘signature strikes,’ in which a drone attack
is launched based not on the identification of known Al-Qaeda
fighters, but on the behavior of people.

In May 2013, amid criticism about US drone strikes overseas,
President Obama said in a policy speech that “before any
strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians
will be killed or injured,” adding that this is “the
highest possible standard.” Though the latest strikes, among
others, have caused analysts to question whether the Obama administration’s supposed
“new rules” for strikes are consistent at all.

The US has unofficially paused its drone strike campaign in Pakistan, as
negotiations continue between the Pakistani Taliban and the
nation’s government. Yet strikes in Yemen have not stalled – nor
has the official secrecy of the US that has marked its drone
operations there.

Just over a week ago, multiple drone strikes in Yemen targeting so-called
militants killed dozens of people, including some innocents.

In December, a US drone strike killed 15 members of a wedding party, mistaking a procession of vehicles
for a militant convoy. The group had been en route to the village
of Qaifa, the site of the wedding, when it was hit. The assault
left charred bodies strewn in the road and vehicles on fire,
officials told AP.

Yemen is considered to be the top foothold for Al-Qaeda, and its
affiliate there - Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) - is
considered the militant network’s most active wing. The Yemeni
government has asked the US for assistance in fighting terror
threats, yet the entirety of negotiations between the US and
Yemen is unknown.

Critics maintain that the drone strikes program in the country
has done nothing to stem the growth of Al-Qaeda, and has even
increased support for the terror network.

Human rights groups panned the decision to remove the
transparency provision from the intelligence bill.
“How many people have to die for Congress to take even a
small step toward transparency? It's stunning that after all
these years we still don't know how many people the Obama
administration has killed with drones,” said Zeke Johnson,
director of Amnesty International’s security and human rights
program, according to the Guardian.

Quotes

"There is beauty in truth, even if it's painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak. But lies only strengthen our defects. They don't teach us anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything. Nor do they develop one's character, one's mind, one's heart or one's soul." Jose Harris

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